The Canadian government expressed to the Mexican government its concern about the changes to laws related to the mining industry that will affect its investors. The Minister of International Trade of Canada, Mary Ng, communicated by telephone with the Secretary of the Economy, Raquel Buenrostro, about the law that is currently being discussed in the Mexican Congress.
"Ng expressed her concern about the mining reforms proposed by Mexico, which could affect Canadian investment in the mining sector in Mexico, as well as the possible impacts on the competitiveness of North America," said the Canadian minister in a letter released on her personal Twitter account.
Last week, the Chamber of Deputies approved laws related to the mining industry. These changes are currently being discussed for approval in the Senate, although some opposition legislators have asked to declare a recess and open dialogue to the parties involved.
Today, Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior, Adan Augusto Lopez, said that when the laws are approved, “a brake is put on mining activity. Now preference will be given to human rights and water.”
The concern of the industry is because it is a change promoted by the President of the Republic and because Congress is dominated by the party in power, MORENA, and also because the ordinary legislative period ends on April 30. Although legislators from the president's party said that there will be an extraordinary legislative period, which would be next month.
"We hope that the (legislative) time will reach the senators of the Republic that it will be approved in the next sessions," Augusto said Wednesday at the morning conference at the National Palace.
Canada "reiterated the importance of conducting broad and transparent consultations with all interested parties on the proposed reforms, including Canadian companies, which represent the largest group of foreign investors in Mexico's mining sector," read a statement published in Ng’s Twitter account.
In addition, "Minister Ng urged Mexico to ensure that the spirit of the commitments made by the leaders at the North American Leaders Summit and the USMCA is maintained."
For its part, the Ministry of Economy responded on Twitter to Ng. Quoting Buenrostro, the answer was that the changes to the mining laws are to modernize the regulations that date back 30 years and that they will respect the international treaties signed by Mexico.